The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 461

“Huh? What, what is that?”

The Chitai soldiers guarding the White Tiger Gate were bewildered as they looked towards the west, the direction of Junggyeong [the capital city] they were supposed to be defending.

The Chitai King’s direct unit was leading the charge, followed by countless citizens all rushing forward in unison.

However, a foul, fishy odor carried by the wind stung their noses. Even from this distance, the stench alone was enough to make them nauseous.

Recently, the weather had turned so cold that even excrement froze instantly, preventing any odor. The fact that such a pungent smell was present was far from ordinary.

“T-This is a disaster!”

A keen-eyed lookout, using a telescope, observed the situation and reported.

“U-Undead! They’re undead!”

Not only the direct forces of Junggyeong but also the residents and even the livestock had all transformed into grotesque monsters.

However, since they were all armored and moving in an orderly fashion, only some parts of their bodies were visible, making them appear as undead to the lookout.

“What?!”

“This is terrible!”

The soldiers of the White Tiger Gate were horrified. With Azadin’s army in front and the undead forces of Junggyeong suddenly approaching from behind, they felt their minds go blank.

“Huh?”

However, an unexpected event occurred.

“The enemy is retreating.”

“What?”

“They, they’ve raised a white flag?”

As they said, Azadin’s army was retreating with a white flag raised.

“Hmm. Annoying, but they’re too good.”

“Pardon?”

“They’re backing off to let us deal with those things.”

“Tch. Those bastards!”

“They figured it out from below the fortress!”

“They must be using some kind of scouting magic. Turn the cannons! It doesn’t seem like they’ll attack us now. Let’s deal with the monsters coming from Junggyeong first!”

The gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate ordered the cannons, which had been facing east, to be turned west.

The soldiers immediately moved the cannons with all their might, turning them away from Azadin’s army and towards Junggyeong, preparing to face the approaching enemies.

Shortly after, a hippogriff landed in front of them.

Breathing fire and with a grotesque mix of feathers and scales all over its body, the transformed hippogriff carried Sebalhan, the King of Chitai.

When Sebalhan opened his mouth, a terrible stench emanated from him.

“You dare turn your cannons on me? You harbor treasonous thoughts.”

“No, Your Majesty. How could we ever dare?”

“Then immediately open the gates of the White Tiger Gate and join our army.”

Sebalhan commanded as the King of Chitai.

To refuse would be treason, but to obey was difficult given Sebalhan’s current state.

“Your Majesty, have you perhaps dabbled in dark magic?”

The gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate was also a member of the Chitai royal family. He was well aware of what it meant for Garasan to have joined Azadin.

The traditional Seonbi [Confucian scholars] of the Cheongryu faction had acknowledged Azadin.

While stubborn people were indignant that a member of the Jeonryeong clan dared to usurp the throne, when one considered it, no one in the current era had proven their worth as much as Azadin.

Many nobles had left Sebalhan, and while Chitai was being ravaged, it was understandable that Sebalhan would resort to forbidden dark magic to try and turn the tide of the war.

However, if he resorted to dark magic when cornered, where had the pride of the Yaegas gods gone?

“Do you dare insult me?”

“A sudden solar eclipse has occurred, and strange events are unfolding in the world. At times like this, it is right to withdraw the troops and gather the opinions of the people. Since the enemy is also retreating, wouldn’t it be wise to observe the situation first?”

The gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate, while grimacing at the unbearable stench emanating from Sebalhan, spoke with as much courtesy as possible.

‘Your current state is not normal, so calm down. Are you even human?’

He was trying to say this without offending Sebalhan.

However, Sebalhan was enraged by the gatekeeper’s hesitant attitude.

“Silence! You are to immediately return your military seal. You are dismissed!”

Sebalhan declared his dismissal.

The soldiers were shocked and looked at the gatekeeper.

The king had issued a dismissal, so should they obey his command?

“That is no longer our king. Fire!”

The gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate ordered the soldiers to fire the cannons.

However, the soldiers who were supposed to fire the cannons hesitated.

After all, the opponent was their king. Firing cannons at the king was psychologically difficult.

However….

‘Shhhhaaaaa!’

The soldiers behind Sebalhan rushed forward.

It was not a human sprint.

They kicked off the ground on all fours like beasts, running grotesquely, their limbs, muscles, joints, and bones stretching out as they charged with a hideous momentum.

Rather than humans, they were like spiders running across the ground, and they instantly clung to the walls of the White Tiger Gate.

Surprisingly, they climbed the steep walls as naturally as if they were on flat ground, like spiders climbing a wall.

“Eek?!”

“What is that?!”

“Fire!”

The cannons of the startled soldiers fired.

As the grotesquely transformed people crossed the gate, the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate began firing with all their might.

The power of gunpowder weapons was immense, tearing apart the grotesquely transformed humans, but the torn bodies of the humans fell to the ground and wriggled.

The severed ends closed up, and the severed upper bodies and lower bodies each climbed the walls again.

“I-Impossible!”

“T-They’re demons!”

Seeing the enemies rise again even after being killed, the soldiers knew they would die here today.

At that moment, Sebalhan took flight on his hippogriff.

Sebalhan and his closest guards flew into the sky on hippogriffs, spreading a terrible stench as they flew over the White Tiger Gate.

The startled arquebusiers tried to fire their arquebuses into the sky for anti-aircraft fire, but many of their arquebuses were old-fashioned, using a powder pan ignition system. If they raised their guns too high, the powder would spill from the pan, preventing them from firing properly.

“Tch!?”

“Oh, dear!”

While some high-angle fire was possible, the powder spilled and misfired when the enemies were directly above them.

“You traitors! Do you want to end up like the citizens of Junggyeong?!”

As Sebalhan raged, a terrifying dark aura gathered around him in the sky.

A terrible stench stung everyone’s noses.

As the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate were at a loss, another hippogriff suddenly flew in and struck Sebalhan’s hippogriff from the sky.

“Tch!?”

It was Azadin’s hippogriff, Firewinter, that had attacked Sebalhan’s hippogriff.

“Huh?!”

“W-What is that?!”

“Reinforcements!”

The soldiers of the White Tiger Gate cheered as they saw the hippogriff suddenly appear and fight Sebalhan and his group.

However, the officers had a complicated expression because they knew that it was Azadin’s hippogriff.

The enemies they had been prepared to die fighting just moments ago had flown in to save them.

Azadin, on the hippogriff, held an ashwood longbow instead of his broken Wolgak Bow [a type of bow] and shot arrows.

Even though he was only balancing on the saddle while flying on the hippogriff, his arrows were so accurate that they pierced the gaps in the armor of Sebalhan’s close aides and other hippogriffs.

Taking advantage of the gap created when Sebalhan’s hippogriff was knocked away, Azadin landed Firewinter on the wall of the White Tiger Gate.

“Ugh?!”

“A-Azadin, Your Majesty?!”

“There’s no time to explain. Let’s have a truce and fight together!”

Azadin said this and cast the spell from the Divine King’s Scripture, the King’s Blessing, for everyone.

A pure white light spread out from Azadin, driving away the cold and empowering the soldiers’ weapons.

“Now, take up your weapons! I will fight with you!”

Then, the Nether monsters, who had been regenerating and attacking even after being hit or cut in half, now burst into flames every time they were attacked.

“Huh?!”

“What is this?!”

“Good heavens! It’s the power of the King!”

“Incredible.”

“It’s the Divine King’s Scripture?!”

The soldiers of the White Tiger Gate were bewildered.

Their king had fallen into depravity by dabbling in terrible dark magic, while the enemy general was using the righteous power of the Divine King to support them.

Just a few hours ago, they had been mocking Azadin with all sorts of vulgar remarks and burning with hostility towards him, but now they were shouting cheers without any hesitation.

“Long live King Azadin!”

“You crazy bastard. What are you doing?!”

“Long live!”

“The true king is with us!”

The soldiers’ cheers spread like wildfire.

Now, there was no question as to who the true king was.

-Kwaang!

At that moment, a gunpowder explosion occurred.

Originally, the White Tiger Gate had prepared gunpowder barrels below the fortress to stop Azadin’s army from invading Junggyeong.

To sustain their firepower when facing Azadin’s army, they had stored expensive gunpowder below the fortress, on the west side.

But now that the enemy was attacking from Junggyeong… they joined forces with Azadin and lured the approaching enemy soldiers below the fortress, detonating the stored gunpowder barrels.

Thanks to this, they had a brief respite. Azadin, while shooting arrows, crossed the wall and approached the gatekeeper of the White Tiger Gate.

“Hey! I’m trying to send reinforcements, can I put up ladders?!”

“O-Of course, Your Majesty.”

The gatekeeper pounded his chest with his fist and bowed his head in respect.

“Thank you.”

Azadin’s army, which had retreated, began to place siege ladders on the walls of the White Tiger Gate and bring up supplies.

The gunpowder and arrows that were originally intended to attack the White Tiger Gate were now being used to defend against the enemy alongside the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate.

*********

With the addition of Azadin’s army, the soldiers of the White Tiger Gate were able to catch their breath for a moment.

The ladders, originally made for siege warfare, were now connected to the eastern side of the wall, providing a passage to bring up necessary supplies and evacuate the wounded and exhausted to the rear.

However, despite these efforts, it was not enough to turn the tide of the battle, and corpses piled up in front of the White Tiger Gate.

The sun was setting.

Even if it was a sun tainted by dark magic, the sun was still the sun, and as it began to set, cold and darkness spread across the world.

The area around the White Tiger Gate was filled with the terrible stench of corpses, which could not be suppressed even by the bitter cold, and burning bodies.

“Is this hell?!”

They rotated the exhausted soldiers to keep fighting, but even so, the soldiers’ stamina was rapidly depleted.

Nevertheless, the attacks of the Nether forces were still relentless.